Transformation of Open Distance Flexible Learning at the Intersection of National Reform of Vocational Education and Training

Abstract

When the realisation of transformational change to an education organisation’s system of open distance flexible learning (ODFL) becomes a significant factor in the radical reform of a national network of VET (vocational education and training), the intersection of these two factors becomes a game changer in innovating the way New Zealanders access vocational higher education. // Open Polytechnic of New Zealand (OPNZ) is a specialist provider of ODFL with a history that spans more than 70 years. In a strategically determined way the polytechnic has gone about transforming itself into a fully digital, online provider of ODFL. Key factors in this transformation have included: investment in the development of its own digital learning management system; the translation of print-based courses and programmes into digital education resources; and, the disaggregation of activities that strengthens the value chain and facilitates the offering of ODFL component services to learners and other external stakeholders. // New Zealand, a small Pacific nation with a population of 4.7 million people, is wrestling with the necessities of making massive changes in the way it delivers vocational education and training to those in work and young people seeking ways to establish careers. In a radical proposal to reform the country’s VET sector the New Zealand Government is looking to harness educational innovation and technology based solutions to leverage a complete overhaul of VET. // In this presentation two of the architects and implementers of OPNZ’s transformation change programme step through how this change has been designed and brought about. They then go on to carefully examine the contribution that ODFL and Open Polytechnic’s transformation will make to the reform of New Zealand’s VET sector. The presentation provides contemporary insights into the role of ODFL in the remodeling and innovation of a national system of vocational education. // Paper ID 278